Remembering and a Parting
by Ruby Tristan Snape
Summary: Keevy has been a crew member of the Black Pearl for many years now. Now she must leave and go home. Will saying goodbye destroy her? Oneshot, pleasse review! :D


"Well, that's it, thanks for joining us on our little journey, ye can get off now," said Jack as we touched down. I was sitting on deck, looking out at Tortuga. He came up behind me.

"Come on now," he repeated imploringly, grabbing my filthy sleeve and pulling me over to the ladder, which was just now being lowered. I pulled away.

"I won't get off," I stated.

"We agreed that ye would get off here," Jack reminded me, raising an eyebrow. Streams of pirates rushed by me to get off the ship, by now their horrid stench not bothering me, their bedraggled appearances matching my own. My uncle was only a mile from here. What would he do if he saw me like this? Would he be proud, or disappointed? I just wasn't sure anymore.

"I'm a pirate," I said flatly. "I can't believe you trusted me."

"Then I'll just have to kill you," the captain sighed, and I saw his hand move to his belt. Whatever he was going to retrieve from it, though, he never got the chance, because the flat edge of a sword came down on his hand. He recoiled, scowling.

"If you remove me, I will seek a meeting with the Navy when they come to pick up their next order of swords from my uncle-"

"Liar," said Jack. "Not that I ever expected you to be honest, but why would the Navy come all the way to Tortuga just to pick up an order of swords, when there are a million other blacksmiths in the world?"

"Because my uncle is the only one in a million who makes swords like this." I unsheathed mine and held it out to Jack. I had had it out before, but I had never let anyone examine it closely before. I pointed to a gold fleck in the handle. "A tiny speck of cursed Aztec gold, not enough to lay a curse but enough to add invincibility to the sword itself, and protects the user from being hurt by their own sword." I ran my hand along the sharp edge of the blade and showed them my smooth, undamaged hand. Jack exchanged looks. I pointed out a small round scar at the bottom of the handle, where the metal had been taken out and replaced. "Inside is a secret message holder," I said, unscrewing the little circle and showing the pirates the little hole inside. I shook out a small, pink, fleshy blob. "But right now, there's only Kraken tentacle in there." I put it back in a screwed it shut. Jack looked kind of nervous now.

"And, er, what if you need to carry a message with that thing in there?" Jack asked uneasily.

"I use the other side," I said casually, turning it over, showing them the identical scar on the other side. "And see the line up the middle of the blade?" I said, running my finger up the middle, tracing out an impossibly thin line of gold. "It's spun gold. Unbelievably strong." I flipped the sword around and put it back in its sheath. "Each sword is one-of-a-kind. The Navy picks them up for ceremonies." I grinned at the two astonished-looking pirates. "So, when they come around again, I will tell them about you. I know when you're coming back next, and I will have you hanged." I suddenly covered my mouth in horror. There was a moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, removing my dirty hand from my mouth. "I- I-"

"It's ok, love, people threaten to hang us all the time," said Jack dryly.

"No… No… It's…" Memories came flooding back to me.

"_Renee and Peter Grey, you will be hanged on this day for your many crimes, which are numerous in quantity and sinister in nature…"_

I hadn't thought about that day for almost five years.

"I'm sorry," I choked. "No…"

Jack put a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off. "Is there something more to this, lassie?" I covered my eyes with my hands.

"My parents were pirates," I gasped, fighting back tears with all the strength I possessed. "I lived with them in Port Royale. Not the best place for a pirate. They weren't famous, but they were good pirates, no doubt. At home they were all rich and prim and proper, and I was their little princess, always dressed like a lady, always acting like one, but I was really a wild child. They even took me on trips sometimes, but usually they'd leave me with my nanny. Their trips were usually very short. They never hid anything from me. I knew they were pirates and I knew that they pillaged, plundered and killed from the day I was born. And I was fine with it." I sobbed. "And then one day, they went out. They stayed longer than usual. When they called me down to the governor's palace after a month of waiting, I was scared they had found out about my parents. And they had. They were there, shackled, bound, gagged… They let them talk, told me they loved me, and told me to be strong. I was clueless. They tied my hands and took me outside…" I lost control of my voice. Sinking to my knees, I tried to keep my voice steady. All was still around me.

"They made me watch as they hung my parents!" I screamed. "They made me watch! And the men in the white wigs all told me that they were horrible people, and they deserved to die! I was only eight! I had to sit and watch, restrained by four men, as my parents' necks' were broken, and then they were cut down and thrown into the sea!" I stopped. Tears poured down my face. Jack stared at me awkwardly. I watched blearily as he fidgeted and stared. I hated them for making me go back to somewhere I didn't belong to, but I guess I didn't belong on a ship, either.

"They took me to stay with my uncle in Tortuga. They dropped me off, telling him they hoped I wouldn't turn out like Renee and Peter. So my uncle dressed me up in corsets and skirts and everything to keep me safe, but really he just wanted for me to be happy… He wanted me to be like my parents." I wished I could stop talking, or crying, or both, but I couldn't. So I just sat there and sobbed. I heard Jack mutter something. It seemed like time stood still as I dissolved into misery. In the midst of all this pirating stuff, I'd thought tons about being hanged, yes, but until I had actually threatened to do it to someone else, my parents' memories had not caught up to me. A female pirate came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"It was the same for me," she whispered, and I noticed that she was crying a little too. "Except I had to watch my daughter be killed… by my husband."

I stopped sobbing and stared up at the woman. She had an expression on her face I couldn't read. She held out her hand and I pulled myself up, shaking. I could tell she wanted to do something to comfort me, but I picked up my bag from the deck and turned away.

"I'm getting off now," I said, and I walked off the ship. I didn't turn, but I heard Jack start towards me (I knew it was Jack, his footsteps sound very different) and then he stopped. I dropped onto the dirt roads of Tortuga and began walking towards my uncle's house. I knew I'd never see the Black Pearl again.


End file.
